Construction Company Fined $6 Million

SACRAMENTO (CN) – A construction company agreed to pay “the largest ever environmental settlement involving portable engines,” to resolve complaints that it operated diesel cranes and pile drivers without permits for months and failed to protect rivers during bridge construction, the attorney general’s office said.

MCM Construction violated state air pollution laws by failing to submit dozens of diesel engines to air quality testing. MCM will pay $6 million, including $4 million in penalties and $2 million to replace old engines with more efficient ones. It also agreed to get permits in the future, to train employees on protecting rivers at construction sites, and to audit its environmental policies. The settlement comes after MCM drew dozens of citations for lacking permits at huge construction projects. MCM was accused of harming salmon spawning habitat in Humboldt County’s Van Duzen River, where it allegedly dumped pollutants, silt and debris into the river.